Queen's Own Interview with Aurora Nelson
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| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Queen's Own Interview with Aurora Nelson |
| Interviewer: | Queen's Own |
| Interviewee: | Aurora Nelson |
| Date(s): | September 1, 2000 |
| Medium: | print, online |
| Fandom(s): | Mercedes Lackey, Valdemar |
| External Links: | Queen's Own Newsletter--September 2000, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
In September 2000, Queen's Own interviewed Aurora Nelson.
For other interviews in this series, see Queen's Own Interviews.
Some Excerpts
What got you hooked on Misty's books?
Well, the first sff (sci-fi/fantasy) I ever read was Anne McCaffrey. Once I had read all of her books, I went looking for something else just as interesting to read. I hadn't the slightest clue where to begin, so I decided to go for a co-author. My favorite book at the time was The Ship Who Searched, so I decided to check books by Mercedes Lackey out of the library. The only books they had by her at the time were the Vanyel books, which are a huge shock if you're a very innocent and oblivious twelve at the time. After that I went through all of her books as I found them. Misty and McCaffrey are still two of my four top favorite authors (I like too many). Lois McMaster Bujold and C.J. Cherryh are the other two.
What was the first con you went to?
Um, well . . . I've only been to one: FanimeCon. It's local. Don't worry; I'm going to more, but you're more likely to find me at a Ren Faire. (For one thing, they're cheaper. I don't end up spending over $100 there!)
Why did you choose to the editor of a Queen's Own fanzine/newsletter?
Well, before I took over Golden Grove, I ran a 'zine called Don't Argue With the Voice. The co-editor and I had a fight over it (I won a year later, point proven. Sorry, had to say that.), and I gave it up. Golden Grove as run by Steph Anderson (the second incarnation of the CA chapter) had died a while back, and I kept hoping to see it restarted. When I finally got a mailbox, I did several things I'd wanted to do. I put a penad in QO and created a small booklet, entitled Sink or Swim, about starting a 'zine or newsletter. Since I had all the Golden Grove info (member list, who'd paid, who hadn't, etc.) and my best friend was responsible for the chapter's name, I just decided to get it going again with the same name. After running a fifty-page quarterly 'zine, a six-page newsletter didn't sound so hard.
What does putting out an issue of your fanzine/newsletter involve?
A lot of scraping, looking for stuff to put in it. I consider e-mail jokes and funnies fair game, if I'm really desperate. If you're just starting (not even a year), expect to put a lot of your own stuff in there. I'm thankful I can draw and write (decently, nothing more). You also go begging a lot for submissions, and you have to be stubborn and keep going even when it seems like you're talking to no one. Other than that, it isn't that hard. You just have to stick with it and not let it crash, no matter how rotten you think your life is at the time. Putting out GG is probably a bit different than putting out any other newsletter or 'zine. I work on an old PowerMac. Cut and paste involves scissors and rubber cement and scanning a lot of typing and has nothing to do with artwork. Someday I will buy a good PC, a scanner/photocopier, and get Internet access. ::sigh:: I think it would only be worse if I was using a dot matrix printer or that fifty-year-old typewriter in the attic. (Actually, I've used both in the past but not for GG.)